Trading
India looks to tourism
LONDON – India is looking to make tourism the number one source of foreign exchange in the next three years, by doubling its forex earnings, according to tourism minister, Renuka Chowdhury.
Citigroup launches flow-weighted currency indexes
LONDON & NEW YORK – Citigroup has launched 10 indexes that measure currencies' value using customer flow data.
Korea to relax currency restrictions
SEOUL – South Korea is to relax regulations on forex trading next year, but authorities have vowed to keep a close eye on how the market develops, according to officials.
Improved outlook for krona
The outlook for the Swedish krona has improved, but the impact will be felt in the crosses, where a topping pattern is developing, says Meg Browne, senior currency strategist at Brown Brothers Harriman in New York
Invest in a carry basket EMTN
Christine Lefort, global head of FX Structuring at Calyon in Paris, suggests a way to extract returns from FX-linked investments in a time of low rate differentials
HSBC breaks into top three
LONDON - UBS has held on to the top spot to be named FX Week Bank of the year for the third year in a row. But the biggest upset sees HSBC break into the top three at Citigroup's expense.
BarCap sticks to core view
Barclays Capital's (BarCap) presence in the top five of the one- and three-month rankings in recent weeks is due to the UK bank sticking to its core view on the dollar.
WestLB loses its forex head
DUSSELDORF - WestLB lost its foreign exchange chief last week as a further sign of the challenges facing the bank's FX business.
HSBC breaks into top three
LONDON - UBS has held on to the top spot to be named FX Week Bank of the year for the third year in a row. But the biggest upset sees HSBC break into the top three at Citigroup's expense.
Brokers pulled into NAB scandal
MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank NAB) is demanding more than A$539 million ($394 million) in compensation from interdealer broker Icap and another unnamed broker for losses the bank incurred following last year's rogue-trading scandal.
National Australia Bank FX back in the black after trading scandal
MELBOURNE – National Australia Bank's FX business is showing signs of recovery nearly two years after the A$360 million forex options trading scandal was unearthed.
Is the post-Plaza Accord era over?
Toru Umemoto, FX strategist at Barclays Capital in Tokyo looks at views for and against ditching the accord
Future for Refco's FX clients still unclear
NEW YORK & LONDON – Hedge fund firm Man Group won an auction for the futures business of the stricken Refco last Thursday (November 10), but the fate of institutional FX clients hangs in the balance.
A towering rate of return
Sara Sullivan, head of currency solutions at ANZ Investment Bank in London, presents a way of enhancing returns on deposits by taking a view on exchange rates
Calyon still bullish on greenback
Calyon's consistent lead in the one-month and three-month year-to-date rankings is due to a bullish dollar view held since late 2004.
Deutsche Bank FX desk signs up to Iokio data navigation service
LONDON – Deutsche Bank's FX sales desk has signed up to a new data navigation service from Iokio.
CLS builds up fund presence
NEW YORK – The fund management community are warming up to CLS, with a growing number of funds settling payment instructions over the system.
Hedge funds lose their shine
A trader at a German bank in London said the “mental bubble” traders had when considering the merits of joining a hedge fund has burst.
Focus on rates
With interest rates in the spotlight, Cyril Beuzit, global head of interest rate strategy at BNP Paribas in London, discusses what to expect next
IAS 39 sparks hedging concerns
LONDON – Accounting rule IAS 39 is causing distortions between economic reality and financial reporting, with rules regarding the use of derivatives likely to impede companies.
FX next big thing for algorithmic trading
LONDON – FX is set to be the most actively traded asset class using algorithms, according to an audience at an event on the subject held last week.
European banks up in third quarter
ZURICH, AMSTERDAM & FRANKFURT – European banks have had a strong third quarter in foreign exchange, with many up substantially over the same period last year.
Currency product ‘growth to continue’
LONDON – Demand for currency-linked structured products is set to continue into next year, according to market participants who have already posted strong sales this year.
BNP to target real-money sales in 2006
LONDON – BNP Paribas is to invest heavily in the real-money space early next year, as it looks to gain traction in an area where the bank has so far had limited presence.